Apparatus for continuous production of syrup

ABSTRACT

Sugar crystals are dropped into the center core of a downwardly spiralling vortex flow of water, maintained in a preferably vertical slurry vortex chamber or duct, through a stationary hydraulic ejector, by a recirculated flow of portions of the produced syrup. Contact between abrasive crystals and solid surfaces, particularly moving surfaces, is avoided.

tilted tates atnt 1 [11.1 3,867,195 Pteutter Feb. 18, 1975 [54] APPARATUS FOR CONTHNUOUS 3,692,579 9/1972 Lauer 127/22 PRODUCTIUN 0F SYRUP 3,759,491 9/1973 Pfeuffer 127/22 X Inventor: Anton Pfeufter, 301 E. 78th St.,

New York, NY. 10021 Filed: Aug. 25, 1972 Appl. No.: 283,675

US. Cl 127/22, 99/451, 127/63,

259/2, 259/DIG. 41 Int. Cl 1301f l/00 Field of Search 127/22, 63

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1957 Thurlings 127/22 Primary Examiner-Morris O. Wolk AssistantExaminer-Sidney Marantz Attorney, Agent, or FirmNolte and Nolte [5 7] ABSTRACT Sugar crystals are dropped into the center core of a downwardly spiralling vortex flow of water, maintained in a preferably vertical slurry vortex chamber or duct, through a stationary hydraulic ejector, by a recirculated flow of portions of the produced syrup. Contact between abrasive crystals and solid surfaces, particularly moving surfaces, is avoided.

7 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION OF SYRUP BACKGROUND AND NATURE OF THE INVENTION Many devices are known for maintaining controlled, continuous flows of aqueous liquids and quite a few are known for continuously feeding measured amounts of dry solids, for example fullers earth, but it has been difficult and even impossible to control the continuous production'of a syrup. Often the sugar crystals, which are abrasive, rapidly destroy the apparatus, including the liquid-carrying parts thereof, which for chemical and other reasons can not always be made of adequately abrasion-resistant material.

It has therefore been usual to place a batch of syrup materials, comprising sugar crystals and water, in a large mixing and storage vessel, and to produce the syrup with the aid .of mixing operations, performed in that vessel. In some systems this is quite acceptable, but in others it leads to economic loss, mainly because of the retention of large amounts of valuable, perishable material.

Other, related problems have also been encountered. Briefly, it has been impossible in general to produce syrup continuously, in measured amount, from its raw materials, except with extended storage during the syrup producing operation.

The invention solves this problem by a new system wherein sugar crystals are dropped into the central core of a downwardly spiralling vortex flow of a slurry of aqueous solvent and crystals. This flow is main tained, through a hydraulic eductor or ejector, by recirculating syrup into ,the eductor. Advantageously, the ejector has no movable parts.

IN THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view of apparatus according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary front view of such apparatus taken along lines 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on a larger scale along lines 33 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the apparatus;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along lines 5-5 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a front view of modified apparatus; and

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along lines 77 in FIG. 6.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 to 3: a hopper or other container 11 is provided for holding a suitable supply of dry sugar crystals. A throat unit 12 is connected with the lower end of hopper 11 by intermediate vibrator structure 13.

According to the invention, throat 12 causes the crystals to fall therefrom into vortex chamber 14, which has a water inlet 15 with adjustable valve 15'. The water enters tangentially, and usually rapidly, through inlet 15 into a peripheral part of chamber 14. Hydraulic mixing chamber 16, desirably formed as a vertical glass tube, has its upper end coaxially united with this vortex chamber by clamp 16'. A slurry of crystals and water spirals down through tube or chamber 16. The lower end of tube or chamber 16 discharges vertically downwardly into the suction inlet of ejector 17, held thereto by clamp 17. From here the resulting syrup or liquid-solids mixture is removed.

This syrup then flows horizontally through a pipe 18 to an area of further treatment or of storage or use, not shown. Material from this area is recirculated through a pipe 19 to the pressure inlet of ejector 17 by a pump 19. Branch connection 20 may carry a gauge (not shown), as needed in various applications of the inventron.

The apparatus is mounted on a dolly frame 21 having wheels 22. The system is shown as having control valve means 23, interposed between recirculation line 19 and ejector 17. Post 24 is supported by frame 21 and supports in turn the hopper 11 the vibrator structure and mixing chamber 16, 13, attachment thereof being ef fected by means of clamp structure 25 or the like. The upper end of the post may havea handle 26 to facilitate transportation of the unit to various points where syrup is to be treated, used or delivered. Electric control means may be housed in a cabinet 27 suitably mounted on post 24 for controlling vibrators 28, 29 or the like of vibrator structure, 13, under the control of a flow switch 30. The control is connected with the switch, vibrators and possibly other equipment by electric lines 31, 31.

An inlet 32 for inert gas such as CO is shown near the top of vortex chamber 14, in order to prevent contact of perishable fluids with oxidizing air at exposed surfaces of water, receiving sugar crystals. This gas inlet may also leads into a gas and crystal-filled chamber, not shown, in unit 13.

A vertical tube 34 connects this chamber of the vibrator unit with the upper end of the mixing chamber 16. The flow of sugar crystals through this tube can be promoted by vibrators 28, 29. The crystals are then directed by the lower end of tube 34 into the central vortex cone C of the water spiralling down the mixing chamber 16.

The crystals spiral downwardly along with this central vortex. In the process, they immediately begin to be dissolved in water. Only then do they come into contact with solid walls or structures. At no point do they contact, or abrade, pump equipment or other delicate moving parts.

SOLID FEEDING DEVICES FOR THE MIXING AND DISSOLVING DEVICE In the apparatus of FIGS. 4, 5, the mixing chamber 16 and ejector, 17 receives the required solid material through a vibrator unit 13 having dual vibratory screens 51, 52 therein, with dual vibrators 28 and 29 for applying vibratory motion to these screens respectively, the screens being shown as suspended horizontally in the rigid feeder structure by flexible support means 51, 52. By this arrangement the first screen 51 intercepts the flow of crystals and delivers the same according to the demand of the second screen 52, with an adjustable level change to maintain uniform solids flow rate, fitting the uniform production of syrup. The dual screen and dual vibrator apparatus is able to feed measured amounts of crystals, even of non-free flowing material, in substantially continuous amount.

As also shown in FIG. 5, a duct 53 descends from upper screenSl to lower screen 52 for the transfer of the dry sugar crystals. A feeler 54 is pivotably attached to the inside of this duct. This feeler is suitably counterweighted or otherwise biased into the illustrated position, wherefrom a descending stream of sugar crystals in duct 53 can displace the feeler to a position closer to the wall of the duct. A switch 55 is provided for the control of suitable equipment to reduce or enlarge or in some cases to stop and restart the motions of the upper vibrator 28, while the lower screen vibrator 29 is controlled by a rheostat (not shown) and determines the willfully adjusted hourly capacity. Any rheostat adjustment effected by turning a knob on control cabinet 27 (FIG. 1) is transmitted to the screen motions which in turn effect the supply of crystals from the upper to the lower screen. Substantially uniform composition of the produced syrup can be maintained by this arrangement, even when using solid crystals of a type which can be handled only with difficulty.

A modified solid feeder is shown in FIGS. 6-7, particularly for use where the dry crystals form a free flowing material and a second vibrator is not needed. A ball float 56, in perforated guide structure or cage 57, opens and closes supply funnel 58 as it rides up and down on top of a heap of crystals which ultimately are discharged through vibratory gate 59.

Still other modifications are possible. For example the new apparatus described up to here can be combined with a further system (not shown), receiving material from eductor 17. This further system may provide a dissolver, including a cylindrical screen surrounded by a helical insert for creating a circulatory, helical, inward liquid movement and centrifugal motion of solids too large to enter the screen, in order to accelerate particle dissolution and self-cleaning of the screen surface. In this event syrup is recirculated from the liquid outlet of the dissolver to the syrup inlet of eductor 17.

Preferably the recirculated syrup delivered to the ejector approximately equals the quantity of syrup delivered to the ejector from the mixing chamber.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for continuously producing sugar syrup comprising a mixing chamber, vortex means for establishing an aqueous vortex in said mixing chamber, means delivering sugar crystals to said vortex whereby said mixing chamber is constituted as means within which a syrup is formed, an outlet from said mixing chamber leading to a suction inlet of an ejector whereby syrup from said outlet is delivered to a remote location and means recirculating at least a portion of said syrup from the remote location to a motive fluid inlet of said ejector.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 also including means for introducing inert gas into a portion of the vortex chamber.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the mixing chamber is vertically oriented and said vortex means is disposed at the upper end of said mixing chamber, said vortex means comprising a liquid inlet.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 also including vibrator means for maintaining a flow of the solid sugar crystals to be directed into the vortex chamber.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the vibrator means include at least one vibrator and means for periodically starting and stopping the vibrator so that, in cooperation with the recirculating means, substantially uniform composition of the produced syrup is maintained.

6. A method of continuously producing sugar syrup which comprises establishing an aqueous vortex flow in a mixing chamber, delivering sugar crystals to said vortex to form a syrup in said chamber, delivering the syrup so formed to a suction inlet of an ejector and conveying the syrup from said ejector to a remote location and recirculating a portion of the syrup from said remote location to a motive fluid inlet of said ejector.

7. A method according to claim 6 wherein the recirculated syrup delivered to the ejector approximately equals the quantity of syrup delivered to the ejector from the mixing chamber. 

1. APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUSLY PRODUCING SUGAR SYRUP COMPRISING A MIXING CHAMBER, VORTEX MEANS FOR ESTABLISHING AN AQUEOUS VORTEX IN SAID MIXING CHAMBER, MEANS DELIVERING SUGAR CRYSTALS TO SAID VORTEX WHEREBY SAID MIXING CHAMBER IS CONSTITUTED AS MEANS WITHIN WHICH A SYRUP IS FORMED, AN OUTLET FROM SAID MIXING CHAMBER LEADING TO A SUCTION INLET OF AN EJECTOR WHEREBY SYRUP FROM SAID OUTLET IS DELIVERED TO A REMOTE LOCATION AND MEANS RECIRCULATING AT LEAST A PORTION OF SAID
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 also including means for introducing inert gas into a portion of the vortex chamber.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the mixing chamber is vertically oriented and said vortex means is disposed at the upper end of said mixing chamber, said vortex means comprising a liquid inlet.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 1 also including vibrator means for maintaining a flow of the solid sugar crystals to be directed into the vortex chamber.
 5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the vibrator means include at least one vibrator and means for periodically starting and stopping the vibrator so that, in cooperation with the recirculating means, substantially uniform composition of the produced syrup is maintained.
 6. A method of continuously producing sugar syrup which comprises establishing an aqueous vortex flow in a mixing chamber, delivering sugar crystals to said vortex to form a syrup in said chamber, delivering the syrup so formed to a suction inlet of an ejector and conveying the syrup from said ejector to a remote location and recirculating a portion of the syrup from said remote location to a motive fluid inlet of said ejector.
 7. A method according to claim 6 wherein the recirculated syrup delivered to the ejector approximately equals the quantity of syrup delivered to the ejector from the mixing chamber. 